got to be creative, you know what i mean. that was awful. coming up -- returning to our top story this morning. first presidential debate and your observations about it. and stick around for something ooey and gooey and sweet. extreme eats series, early morning favorite. you are horrible, rob nelson. donuts like you have never seen or tasted before. all coming of on "world news now." ♪ me-away. um, hello. these ugly stains are ruining my good looks and style. and good luck using that cleaner. excuse me, miss ? he's right. those are tough hard water stains, and that cleaner's not gonna cut it. truth is, 85% of us have hard water and many don't even know it. you need lime-a-way. lime-a-way is specially formulated to conquer hard water stains. it's 4 times more effective at removing lime scale

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well, instant analysis takes on new meaning in the world of social media. facebook and twitter. lighting up last night with folks weighing in. >> everyone is sitting on the couch chiming in. that was no different on our facebook page. as soon as the debate ended we asked you who you thought won. and why? here is some of what you had to say. >> genelle says romney -- he was clear, decisive in his answers. where obama's mind seemed to wander and at times seemed very distant while romney was speaking. >> a lot agree with that. meanwhile, martin says obama. romney gives me a bad feeling. i don't trust him.

>> ally says, obama won. romney looked lick he drank too much red bull or something. he was hyped. >> mitchell says, huge obama fan and think he'll come back next debate. but tonight he was kicked from one side of the ring to another. >> andy says, i call it a tie since they both seem to have repeated what the other said, just different wording or something like that. >> really, really interesting last night. pundits on both side. mitt romney's night. don't think any one is are going that. obama, flat, looking down, angry, irritated. like he is phoning it in. mitt romney was aggressive. wonder if he went through 22 debates in the primary with republicans. it showed last night. it really did. >> sure did. very strange strategy so to speak from the president. >> if it was a strategy, yeah. join the conversation logging on to our facebook page wnnfans. m wnnfans.com. and from pickles to

meatballs, all week bringing you unusual food tour of new york city. >> that's right. this morning we found a place that has perfected donuts. look at this thing right here. >> not yet. not yet. >> stick around for our extreme eats coming up next. man.

>> one of our favorite treats at well, they are one of our favorite treats at 3:00 a.m. donuts. >> we send amanda van allen, donuts taken to a whole new level. amazing, amanda. >> ron, paula, you have never seen donuts like the ones i am about to show you. i visited donut planet, where i learned to make three types of gourmet donuts. i even used a blow torch for one of them. part of our extreme series, "extreme eats." we are her today at donut plant, here with executive chef, owner, mark. what keeps the customers coming

become to this donut place, rather than just having a dunkin donuts down the street? >> i think because it is original. i've taken my grandfather's doughnut recipe and i kind of wanted to do something different with it. when i first started making donuts 18 years age i was interested in taking it in my own direction. you know, so much more fun to do something that hadn't been done before. >> learning how to make donuts from start to finish. and this is our first station, right, mark? >> right. what we have done is rolled out the dough. >> okay. >> now, we are going to cut them. when you cut out a lot of donuts. learn how to flip it. watch this. >> ooh. fancy. i want to try that. hold on. a section for myself. okay. here we go. >> that's good. >> take it over here. >> ooh, wow. >> so we do them all together. >> yeah. ♪

>> how does pistachio sound? >> pistachio sounds kind of amazing, actually. whoa. wow. >> look at that. >> so there is no surface that goes untouched by the pistachio. everything. >> total coverage. >> total coverage. look at that. i love that. oh, my goodness. >> what is in the rose? >> we have this small mini donut. we are going to glaze it in rose water glaze. and after that, we're going to accessorize it with -- >> with these. >> rose petals. >> edible. cheers. >> oh, my goodness. amazing. >> this is our signature donut

which is a -- also a crème brule, inject with vanilla bean custard. see how the a crunchy outside coating, you bite in and it's soft vanilla custard. you keep it moving. okay? >> okay. >> stay pretty far away from it. you don't want to burn it. main thing to keep it moving. because you are going to caramelize the sugar. not burn it. >> a little too fast. >> sorry. >> i have to focus. look at that donut. that was, that was actually -- >> it's on fire! >> just pops out at you. it's just like a party in my mouth. >> oh, my goodness. >> look at all these flavors. run through these. >> yeah, chocolate cake donuts.

raspberry bow nuts, creme brulee. pistachio, peanut butter, coconut. >> delicious! here you go, paula! >> ha-ha! medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients.

plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral to see a specialist. so don't wait. call now and request this free decision guide to help you better understand medicare... and which aarp medicare supplement plan might be best for you. there's a wide range to choose from. we love to travel -- and there's so much more to see. so we found a plan that can travel with us. anywhere in the country. [ male announcer ] join the millions of people who have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp, an organization serving the needs of people 50 and over for generations. remember, all medicare supplement insurance plans help cover what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands a year in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. and learn more about the kinds of plans that will be here for you now -- and down the road. i have a lifetime of experience.

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♪ work work it girl do your thing on the runway ♪ work it, baby. >> as i split my dress. >> more of the donut. >> sound like a glamorous life, beauty, high fashion, exotic photo shoots, being on the catwalk, probably a cakewalk, isn't it? >> really. so sticky. but it turns out that is not even close, though. being a model is not only hard work it pays next to nothing. abc's linsey davis talked to a woman who is revealing the ugly side of beauty. >> reporter: strutting your stuff on the catwalk and gracing magazine covers have never seemed so unglamorous. at least when seen through the eyes of model ashley stetz. >> there is so much rejection, and you know you don't always get paid. no stability in this work.

>> reporter: stetz has been a covergirl and industry insider more than a decade. this is her day job. trying on clothes and posing for pictures. doesn't sound too strenuous until you hear her talk about it or read what she wrote in the column for huffington post, the finances of a model in new york city revealed. >> you are really not making any money. >> reporter: for example when she landed this her first cover for "women's health" magazine she was disappointed to learn she would get paid $250. she says many other day-long shoots pay even less, just $100 for the entire day. >> a lot of models do end up working as waitresses, working in night life. >> reporter: she just wants to clear misconception and give outsiders insight about what she calls the underbelly of the industry. >> you have to keep in mind it is a business for them and they just see you as a way to make

money, essentially. if you need to borrow money from your agency you are waiting to pay the rent, they'll charge you 10%. >> reporter: at 30 years old she knows she is nearing the end of her shelf life as a model. >> i was comfortable. it was easy to do this job the what's next? >> reporter: back in march, she started an advice blog called the frugal model, teaching girls how to be beautiful on a budget. she says something her life as a model has taught her firsthand. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> that breaks misconception. you think models are raking all that money on covers and stuff. good to know there is another side to it, huh? >> ironically, it's one of those professions that the males actually make less than the female models. >> how much did you make when you did it? >> $1.50 an hour the i had to pay them. >> wow, "glamour" magazine. glazed donut edition. get it on stands now.

this morning on "world news now" -- rating the debate. the presidential candidates get down to policy nitty-gritty in their first face-off. >> the early reviews say mitt romney turned in a strong performance in denver last night. it is thursday, october 4th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good thursday morning, everybody. i'm paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson, welcome, everybody. a lot of people are saying it looks like a brand new race this morning. we'll have complete debate analysis coming up in just a second. by all accounts a very good night, perhaps a momentum game-changer for mitt romney. >> bit of a head scratcher for the president. a lot of people said he just

looked listless. >> he kind of phoned it in last night. not a good night, so, expect reassessment. >> for sure. >> also this half-hour, laughing it up with america's post debate ritual. a look at "saturday night live's" long history of skewering the politicians. no one does it better than "snl." >> not gonna do it. >> not gonna do it. dana carvey. >> can't wait. hear how they're going to spin it. also ahead, we have heard so much about the peanut butter recall. now we meet a victim of the outbreak, a little boy whose scoop of peanut butter gave him the scare of his life. >> again, the people -- they're saying how far reaching the peanut butter recall is. so many products. a telltale story right there. then we also have a revelation from nicole kidman. she breaks her silence about going into a deep depression after her marriage to tom cruise fell apart a few years back. what she is saying now coming up in "the skinny." seeing she has given this interview now, of course, tom, just in the middle of this third divorce. i believe.

so, wow, crazy. >> yes, it is. what is not crazy we are leading with politics. >> yes, it is. first, mitt romney had president obama on the defensive for the majority of that 90 minute debate last night. >> his performance renewed hope among republicans for a victory come november. with 33 days until the election, abc's terry moran begins our coverage. >> reporter: they came out, shook hands, ready for the main event. but president obama began soft, very soft. a shoutout to the first lady. >> i just want to wish, sweetie, you, happy anniversary, and let you know that, a year from now we will not be celebrating it in front of 40 million people. then they got down to business, the subject, jobs. romney took it to the president from the get-go. >> middle-income families are being crushed. >> reporter: it was clear and direct and aggressive. romney seemed on his game and ready for a fight. hammering away at the grim economic track record of the last four years. >> when the president took

office, 32 million people on food stamps, 47 million on food stamps today, economic growth this year, slower than last year. and last year, slower than the year before. going forward with the status quo is not going to cut it for the american people who are struggling today. >> reporter: president obama seemed at first to wander a bit, but found his footing with an answer that slammed romney as the heir of failed trickle-down economics. >> i think, math, common sense, and our history shows us that is not a recipe for job growth. look, we've tried this, the approach governor romney is talking about is the same sales pitch made in '01 and '03 and it all culminated in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. >> the president struggled to score points on what polls show is romney's biggest vulnerability. most voters believe he favors the rich. obama tried to portray the romney/ryan plan for medicare in that light. >> when you move to a voucher system you are putting seniors at the mercy of the insurance companies and over time if

traditional medicare has decayed or fallen apart then they're stuck. >> reporter: for his part, romney zeroed in on what may be obama's vulnerability, the unpopularity of his health care plan and the sense that he took his eye off the economic ball when he pushed for it. terry moran, abc news, new york. >> our debate coverage continues now with abc's senior washington editor rick klein. >> rick, good morning. pundits on beth side of the aisle giving this to romney. we are expecting zingers, style, not substance, a whole lot of spinach on the plate. did it work? >> couple think-tank presidents tangling there. so many studies and reports and facts and figures. i think both candidates know, voters out there want specifics, so they came loaded to bear with more specifics than most can handle. one thing that seemed lacking to me is any sense of humanity. actually touching peoples lives. in the blizzard of numbers. clearly, two guys that -- maybe a couple wonky, nerdy guys running for president.

>> not a joe six-pack debate by any stretch. there weren't a lot of bright spots for the president. this was romney's night. everyone on both side saying that. one effective thing the president did, pointed out romney is still short on details on a few key things, health care plan, his tax care plan, as well as as frank-dodd. did he score any points as far as romney being a blank canvas? >> there were a few vulnerabilities when you talked about entitlements, tax plans, he has to square these numbers. he dug himself some holes, that the obama campaign can dig him into even more. it's going to be difficult for him to square those things in a future debate. i think there is possible areas of opportunity there. this was not something that even the most dedicated partisans can paint as a good night for president obama. >> you know it's a bad night if opinions are that uniform, huh? >> exactly. the next presidential debate, tuesday, october 16th. >> thank you, rick. >> thanks. >> thank you, guys. our coverage of the debate does not end here. we'll take you live to denver, during "america this morning"

and also during "good morning america," as well, as a wrap-up and further analysis. look for political insight any time always at abcnews.com. turning overseas, tension is running high this morning along turkey's border with syria. five turkish civilians were killed yesterday when an artillery shell fired from inside syria, landed in their border village. it was answered by artillery fire on syrian targets from turkey's military. syria accuses turkey of hosting syrian opposition groups that are fighting president bashar assad's regime. and the regime is blaming rebels for a series of bomb blasts in syria's largest city aleppo. three car bombs and explosion caused a massive amount of destruction yesterday. at least 33 people werlled and dozens wounded since the uprising began in march 2011. activists say more than 30,000 people have been killed. >> that number is just beyond staggering, man.

in other news this morning -- a new jersey family is thanking a group of good samaritans after escaping a fire in dramatic fashion, all caught on surveillance video. the entire family, a mother and her five kids, jumped out the window of their burning third floor apartment in newark. the 17-year-old went first. landing directly on the sidewalk below. people walking by, gathered under the window to catch the rest of the children and their mom one by one. amazingly there were only minor injuries. >> i have two broken toes. and this foot right here -- my sister her -- her ankle is broken. >> my back is hurting so bad because i came down on my back. my arm, this is hurting so bad. >> certainly could have been far worse than that, wow. the mother said they probably wouldn't be here had it not been for strangers who stepped in to help them. and we have some important health news for women who are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant.

new research shows that children of women who had high blood pressure may pay the price even years later. scientists in finland found the children had a marked decline in their reasoning, math skills, and spatial relationships for the time they turned 70. up to 8% of pregnant women suffer from high blood pressure. here is your thursday forecast. a wet day in the northeast. heavy rain. am i cracking you up? >> i was going to chime in about the pregnancy thing. >> you got something to say about pregnant women don't you. showers and thunderstorms from the carolinas down to florida. up to a foot of snow in north dakota and northern minnesota. >> 40s from billings to fargo. mostly 70s in the midwest. 80s from hot-lanta to dallas. 99 in phoenix. >> did you say fargo? >> fargo. the last time we all saw james bond it was skydiving into the opening ceremony of the london olympics. and now he is about to celebrate a big milestone. >> that's right. tomorrow marks 50 years since the first bond film.

"director no" was released. >> what are you doing, girl? >> followed by 21 other movies featuring 007. during the time six men have played bond himself. forgot how hot he was. >> the franchise has done pretty well. you might say it had nearly $5 billion in ticket sales. the 23rd bond film "sky fall" hits theaters later this month. who is your favorite -- whoa, distracted. who is your favorite bond of all? i'm still a sean connery fan. >> daniel craig. i love daniel craig. he surprised me. i wasn't expecting a whole lot from him. >> he won you over. >> he did win me over. >> indeed. nice to know, paula. >> just like you. >> took a little time, right? >> yes. coming up, family members who founout about tainted peanut butter and they found out the hard way. and later, historic humor. how past political debate turned

candidates into laughingstocks. you are watching "world news now." ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by swiffer wetjet. ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by swiffer wetjet. i'm done! "are you a cool mom?" i'm gonna find out. [ female announcer ] swiffer wetjet's pads are better than ever. now they have the scrubbing power of mr. clean magic eraser so you don't have to get down on your hands and knees to scrub away tough, dried-on stains. hey, do you guys think i'm "momtacular" or "momtrocious"? ♪ [ female announcer ] swiffer. now with the scrubbing power of mr. clean magic eraser.

all week long we have been telling you about the massive recall of peanut butter, more than 100 products now pulled off store shelves.

>> and this morning, we hear firsthand from a young man who never thought his love of peanut butter would make him sicker than he has ever been. abc's steve osunsami has this story. >> reporter: 8-year-old nate lebron says it felt like he was going to die all because he ate out of a jar of peanut butter his father bought from a trader joe's grocery store. >> it felt very painful. the stomach cramps i was screaming loud. and i was saying "why does this happen to me?" >> reporter: he's one of 30 confirmed salmonella victims so far. families should know symptoms show up usually within three days. it was a terrible scare that started saturday, august 25th with classic symptoms parents should look for. first painful stomach cramps. then a severe headache. a 103-degree fever. dysentery. by monday morning he was vomiting too, but he was now bleeding. doctors couldn't figure it out. and on wednesday, he had to be hospitalized. his fever didn't break until friday.

he was already home when the test results came back the following tuesday. salmonella, a unique strain linked to recalled peanut butter. how frightened were you by all this? >> it is our child, our baby, i don't think any parent would want to be in that position. >> i thought this was good for you. but i have been eating peanut butter, that kind of peanut butter before i got sick almost all the time. >> reporter: which he never thought would never hurt. steve osunsami, rocky mount, north carolina. >> a lucky little guy. so far, 30 people have become sick. four have needed to be hospitalized. thankfully, no one has died from the outbreak just yet. >> you can't be too careful. with this, and again, the side effects which are manifesting themselves up to two weeks. >> two weeks later. >> abcnews.com for a complete list on the products recalled. again, abcnews.com for all the latest on that. be careful, you think some may be tainted. chuck it.

wait till this passes. >> i got jif and skippy. those allegedly aren't tainted. >> you got the good stuff. taking it up a notch. >> crunchy. >> oh, no, smooth is better. you like crunchy? >> i like them both. i've don't discriminate against peanut butter. all of them. >> all that nut butter. coming up, nicole kidman reveals her emotional scars dating back to the end of her marriage with tom cruise. and what celebrity watchers are revealing about rihanna and chris brown. it is all next in "the skinny.

♪ skinny ♪ so skinny welcome to "the skinny," everybody. nicole kidman opening up for the first time about her marriage and subsequent depression after her divorce with tom cruise. she spoke to australia's "who" magazine and talks about getting married really young at age 23. they got married in 1990 when she and tom cruise got married. she says they split after 11 years of marriage, they have two adopted children. but she was really depressed because they got married so quickly and she was just so young. she says i don't regret it. i got bela and connor, and i did have a fantastic marriage for a long time. she also says, part of that depression stemmed from being able to conceive. she had an ectopic pregnancy,

and suffered a lot of miscarriages. and has a couple beautiful children with her husband, keith urban. also, fellow aussie. >> divorce can be a dark period for a lot of people, and you throw in fame, wealth, whatever emotional turmoil. but she clearly has moved on and she'll do well. >> looking great. >> looking great. also here -- mm-mm-mm, rihanna and chris brown apparently are maybe getting back together or at least messing around or doing something. according to multiple reports, celeb buzz "us weekly, can" new york post," they were at a new york city nightclub monday night. coming up next to each other. seen kissing. apparently they went into the bathroom together. at one point when she came out, looked a little shall we say ruffled. so then, he was seen leaving the hotel where she was staying. all signs point toward some kind of reconciliation. apparently, when she gave the interview to oprah, she admitted she loved him. they apparently were at the same club. he was a few tables down. he came over, took off his shirt

and started dances on the table where she was at. they had this hot nightclub kind of night. apparently, they're getting back together. we all know the back-story, what happened you. you hope if they to get back together. and god forbid something else happens, people will look at her and go, fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. you know what i mean? let's hope certain lessons have not been forgotten. on that situation, huh? have you ever watched "honey boo boo" the pint-sized pageant star? >> i'm aware of who she is. >> of course, she's a reality star. chronicles her and her family, very entertaining, a lot of my friend like the show. now an upcoming episode of "southpark" that funny show is going to take aim at honey boo boo. take a listen. >> my name is honey boo boo and i'm a beauty queen. i'm fat as a whale and i don't give two -- girl. >> oh, lord. here we go. >> honey-boo-boo. but she's so cute. it's going to air wednesday

10:00 on comedy central. >> oh. >> it's a little bit of an indulgence, people. >> it is. south park is -- i love south park. nothing is safe. nothing is sacred. how long -- honey boo boo. her time in the fire. >> they're asking mitt romney about snooki, honey booboo. she is this little girl is blowing up. >> she has a big personality. >> indeed. making more than us. anyway, we showed you yesterday that nicki minaj and mariah carey had a big dustup on "american idol" auditions in north carolina and expletive-laden tirade between two known divas in the business. ryan seacrest, in the back ground here, going at it. and, well ryan seacrest on his radio show said, it got heated between nikki and mariah. i'll be honest with you. it did get intense. apparently a detente. they are okay now. they made up.

on the way to baton rouge for further auditions. apparently now is all well. >> uh-huh. >> there were tense moments the i don't think it's over. just saying. meow. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and save you up to thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about. and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and you'll never need a referral to see a specialist. there's a range of plans to choose from, too. and they all travel with you. anywhere in the country.

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♪ oh. i've been looking forward to this segment. when most presidential debates have defining moments replayed on cable news and analyzed by pundits for days. >> ain't that the truth. but sometimes, the most memorable moments of the debates come days after the debate on saturday night by some of the most talented comedians on the air. abc's jonathan karl has more. >> i can't. the third one i can't. sorry. oops. >> reporter: some debate moments just don't need late night comedians to be memorable. for the rest there is "saturday night live."

>> let me just sum up. on track. stay the course. a thousand points of light. >> governor dukakis, rebuttal. >> i can't believe i am losing to this guy. [ laughter ] >> reporter: over the years the "snl" parodies have some times been more memorable than the debates themselves. >> can i call you joe? >> can i call you joe? >> of course. >> okay. because i practiced a couple zingers where i call you joe. >> reporter: when you think of palin, facing off against biden. you are probably most likely to think of this. >> john mccain and i are a couple of mavericks and gosh darn it we are going to take that maverick energy right to washin crisis. >> reporter: the real al gore was so stiff in his first debate -- >> i will put medicare and ter:stafecurity in a lock box. >> one he ko te box woue kee

>> reporter: the real john mccain wandered around the stage when he debated obama. and so did "snl's" mccain. the parodies aren't just funny they can matter. >> as many people will talk about the "snl" skit on monday as well talk about the actual presidential debate. that's what makes it so powerful. >> reporter: afterall how can the real debate compete with something like this. >> i know the white house. i know the door out to the rose garden doesn't lock unless you pull it. i know that, i know that the toilet in the lincoln bedroom will run all night unless you news, washington. >> you got to jiggle it. >> oh. the strategiry. >> oh, that was will farrell doing bush. dana carvey doing the first push. tina fey, went through the roof after sarah palin. so many memorable moments. and there --

this morning on "world news now" -- a spin cycle. both sides go into full post-debate spin mode after the first presidential face-off. >> jobs, health care and the economy taking center stage in denver. it is thursday, october 4th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good thursday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> give us a second. >> yeah. the large pizza. >> okay. i am paula faris. we'll go live to denver in a moment to see how analysts and voters are scoring the debate. also ahead, back in business, american airlines says its fleet of 757s is good to go after being checked for the loose seat problem that caused trouble on three flights. >> good to know. also progress on the dispute

with the labor union as well. hopefully progress there. also later in this half hour, a bumper crop on chicago's south side. two football field's worth of marijuana worth millions of bucks, growing right there in the city. but now, it's police who will be harvesting the plants. two football fields of weed. >> the police are harvesting the? >> yeah. >> very interesting. and then inside celebrity lawsuit. a steamy tv doctor tells his real life rock star neighbor, i'll see you in court. >> you think regular folks only want to battle over whose tree is on the property and tree fell and celebrities get into it as well. right there to cover it. >> here is the line in the sand you do not cross. >> do not let your mug cross. your trash can. lawsuit, baby. before we get to all of that.

president obama's most ardent supporters admit he turned in a lackluster debate performance last night. >> and now we'll see if mitt romney can capitalize on his strong showing. abc's karen travers live in denver where the debates took place. >> reporter: good morning. there were missed opportunities for president obama and mitt romney. wonky debate, in-depth policy talk. mitt romney came out very aggressive, very prepared, and put president obama on defense for most of the 90 minutes. president obama and mitt romney finally went head-to-head, right out of the gate, the candidates boiled down their economic arguments. >> governor romney has a perspective that says if we cut taxes, skewed toward the wealthy and roll back regulations that we'll be better off. i've got a different view. >> the president has a silar to the view he had whe rn an four years ago. if you will, trickle down government would work. that's not the right answer for america.

>> reporter: romney's comments about the 47% have taken a toll on his campaign. even before that leaked video polls showed americans think he favors the wealthy over the middle-class. he clearly wanted to try and change that perception. >> the people who are having a hard time right now are middle-income americans. under the president's policies, middle-income americans have been buried. they're just being crushed. i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on middle-income families. >> reporter: but the president said his rival doesn't have the right solutions, and that romney can't keep his goal of cutting taxes and not adding to the deficit without hurting the middle class. >> now, five weeks before the election, he is saying his big bold idea is never mind. >> the debate later turned to the president's health care law which romney says he will get rid of if elected. >> it cut $716 billion from medicare to pay for it. i want to put the money back in medicare. it has killed jobs. >> reporter: but the president

tried to bring it back to romney's own health care law which he says is quite similar. >> governor romney did a good thing, working with democrats in the state to set up what is essentially the identical model. it hasn't destroyed jobs. >> reporter: there were a few fireworks. and fewer surprises. the candidates were very deliberate outlining their bullet points on specific policies, but at the same time, neither of them really went after each other on them. it was more like they were trying to go through a checklist. not really connecting with the voters. rob, paula. >> all right. now, obviously, the president's campaign is going to spin this. what will we be hearing from them? >> well, they were trying to focus on mitt romney, the word you kept hearing from the president's surrogates was mitt romney was testy and that he didn't really counter the president's arguments and go after the president's record effectively. but this is the way it looked in the spin room.

the romney campaign had over a dozen people in there, they walked in before the debate had even ended, ready to start talking victory. the president's team didn't arrive for 10 to 15 minutes and only just a handful of them in there. that kind of says it all. the one side wanted to come in there and start gloating. the other side scrambling to figure what to say. they're trying to say this is all about mitt romney being a little irritated. many people are saying it was the president being a little bit limp and lackluster. >> most people agree with the latter for sure there. >> so getting beyond this debate, what is next for both men now, karen? >> president obama will be back here in just a couple hours. an event here this morning at university of denver. before he head to wisconsin for an event in madison. that's expected to be a large crowd, ce ca, po mitt romney is heading to virginia today, outside of charlottesville. smaller event, smaller town. rob, paula, now talking about the debate for a couple days.

then all about vps, paul ryan and joe biden, debate next week and see where the debate conversation goes. that is certainly going to be maybe more interesting than tonight's was. >> expect a little more fire from the veeps, for sure. >> little bit. >> little more entertaining. thank you, care ken. a long day, live for us this morning in denver. thank you again. stay with abc news for in-depth debate analys senior washington er ri klein will have poli observations right here coming up later in this half hour. well, president obama hoped to put osama bin laden on trial. that is according to a new book out later this month. the book quoting the president saying, mr. obama thought he would be in a strong enough political position after bin laden's capture to put bin laden on trial in the u.s. if bin laden survived that navy s.e.a.l. takedown. the president expecting bin laden going down fighting the book "the finish" on sale in 12 days. and the administration says there's now evidence that stiff economic sanctions against iran are working. in a rare are move, iranians protested in the streets of tehran yesterday, voicing their anger about iran's plummeting currency and lost

more than a third of its value in just a week. so that means it is costing citizens, a lot more to purchase imported goods. american airlines is sweetening its offer as contract talks continue with pilots. the carrier offering to put off pay cuts for international and overnight flights until end of the month. the airline has inspected all boeing 757 jets after problems with the loose seats. all those jets are now back in operation, but some passengers fear pilots are using their power to force flight delays. >> i think there is enough things that could be written up on aircraft. you have a very complex machine that's being operated. there is always going to be some, little thing, something that is not quite right. >> by one travel industry estimate, close to 2 million passengers have been delayed by american in just the last two weeks. and the government says don't believe everything you read on the labels of some

weight loss and nutritional supplements. a new inspector general's report found that one in five labels, it checked, made false or misleading claims in addition to many of those and other supplements lack scientific studies recommended to support their suggested uses. chicago police hunting for suspects responsible for pretty much what's an urban marijuana plantation. they found more than 1,000 plants in an area about the size of two football fields. get this, some of the plants were as tall as christmas trees. they have apparently been growing for months. >> the plants were about 6 feet tall. at this point. the estimated value of this is some where between $7 million and $10 million. when i inquired how long would it take the plants to reach that height, the guess that we are making is these were probably planted sometime in the spring. >> now, the next step is to cut the plants down, remove them to a secure location, where they will then be burned.

>> hello. >> that ought to be -- [ coughing ] >> quite a scene. >> really burning all that? >> all that. >> clear everybody out. chicago is going to feel really good that day. roll with it. well, facebook users who don't want to be overlooked can now pay to be seen. for $7 a pop, users in the u.s. can have their posts bumped up to the top of the news feed, wedding pictures, birth announcements would no longer be buried by more recent posts. the service is a available in 20 other countries as well as the businesses in the u.s. guess we are desperate for attention. >> a little scary there. all right. well, the man who sparked national outrage with his e-mail to a wisconsin news anchor about her weight, he ain't backing down. kenneth cross released a statement urging jennifer livingston to transform herself over the next year for viewers to see. he even offered his advice and

support to her. livingston responded to a four-minute segment about self-worth and called krauss a bully. you would think that went around the horn nationally, would be a little more. >> sensitive. >> sensitive. >> let's move on. >> move on. keep on. unbelievable. >> okay. here is a look at your weather. early snow, what an early snowfall, from bisk to northern minnesota. an area of a foot of the white stuff. storming in the mideast from boston and d.c. showers and thunderstorms from wilmington, north carolina, to miami. >> all right, southern accent. 81 in atlanta. 86 in new orleans. 60s in the central plains. and also from salt lake city over to seattle. >> by the way, kenneth krauss, put your picture up on facebook,

twitter, andee what you look like, have america -- >> did you see the picture? >> this from the guy that didn't recognize that i had specs until about three hours into the show the other day. >> sorry. if it's late. all right, ready. this is our favorite story of the day, man. that's right. one of the rare accomplishments in baseball the reason we picked this as our favorite of the day. >> congratulations to miguel cabrera of the detroit tigers, baseball's first triple crown winner in 45 years, since 1967. >> wow, he led the american league in the three major offensive categories, batting average, home runs and also rbis. cabrera is just the 15th player ever to win the triple crown. >> so that means the rest of tigers can get ready to face the oakland a's in the first round. joins ted williams, lou gehrig, mickey mantle, hasn't happened

since 1967, not in our generation. pretty big deal. >> some of the names. long list, mickey mantle. pretty impressive there. >> last guy, boston's carl yastrzemski. they called him yas in '67. in a moment, we'll return to our top story and get political insight on last night's debate from senior washington editor rick klein. neighbor versus neighbor. aren't we supposed to love our neighbor? >> mcsteamy, and a member of the smashing pumpkins. a hollywood dispute, making waves worldwide. >> is that a marijuana tree? >> i don't know. ♪ ♪ >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by crest pro health clinical toothpaste. . [ male announcer ] now you can. with the crest pro-health clinical line. used together, they help keep your teeth 97% as clean as a dental cleaning. the toothpaste actually reduces plaque. and the rinse reaches all areas and is clinically proven to help prevent plaque regrowth. crest pro-health clinical line. together, they help keep your teeth 97% as clean as a dental cleaning. crest. life opens up when you do.

okay. back to our top story now. the first presidential debate of the campaign season.

>> here is abc's senior washington editor rick klein. rick, thank you for joining us. what is your overwhelmingly biggest observation from the debate last night? >> this was mitt romney's night, no question about it. he was sharp, specific, sustained, a plan of attack and went after barack obama every way he could. holding him accountable for the obama record. we haven't seen that too much in this campaign. there have been so many personal attacks, so many back and forths. he was able to say look this is what you promised four years ago, this is what you delivered on, where is the gap? here's what i will offer. most importantly, able to say look this is the choice i am offering. and he was able to control this debate. >> what do you think was the problem with the president last night? his performance is uniformly panned, tired, underprepared, overconfident? what do you think -- or was this a strategy of some kind? >> i think it was part strategy. they went into the debate knowing they're winning the campaign with the current

strategy. don't do anything to upset that apple cart. see if you can ride this out. the other piece, i think he went in thinking he didn't have to prepare, thinking he was able to ride this, this through, throughout. didn't think mitt romney would bring it the way he did. he was trying not to make news. when you play that kind of prevent defense you prevent yourself from winning. that's what he ran into tonight. playing for a draw he ended up losing. >> a lot of people are questioning why didn't he bring up the 47%. he had a lot of opportunities to hit it out of the park. and iled on those opportunities. >> issues come up, 47, bain, women's rights, nothing. >> it was like a different campaign from the one being waged on the air. the reason it's being waged on the air, they know that it works. almost political malpractice, you have an opportunity. a lot of liberals were gnashing their teeth last night. for the obama campaign perspective they figure he is presidential in this stage. doesn't need to get into the muddy mess of a fight with mitt romney. if he can avoid that, rise

above, ride the coat tails of the presidency, he won't have to go there. they made a decision not to bring up the 47%. wonder if that will hold true in the other debates given the story line of this one. >> it's so funny, too, do you think that romney will see a bounce coming out of this, the way obama had a bounce coming out of the convention and bill clinton's famous speech? >> you need a story to change if you are mitt romney. he is primed for a comeback moment. what happens next is going to be important. how does he follow up on this. he's giving a speech on foreign policy. going to be asked about this in interviews. if he can build on momentum a little. yes expect that he begins to close the gap. positive signs in battleground states. so the romney campaign just happened at the right moment for them to capitalize on something. knowing you have five weeks left, knowing that there's still a couple turns left. >> i can't believe, well, we have 33 days left. five weeks and counting. >> coming soon.

celebrity cat fights are nothing new. celebrity cat fights are nothing new. a new one involving a well-known tv actor and famous rock 'n' roller. >> abc's nick watt reports the fight is over a fallen tree. ♪ despite all my rage >> reporter: living next to smashing pumpkins billy corgan noise would have to be your major complaint. apparently not. it's trees. smashing into your house. eric dane, that's mcsteamy from "grey's anatomy," is suing his neighbor, trespass, nuisance, neglect and emotional distress. here are the indisputable facts of the story. that is billy corgan's house. dark, stormy night. one of the trees got blown over, smash right into eric dane's house.

according to the lawsuit, this falling tree smashed the sprinkler system, the power lines, home alone, eric's heavily pregnant actress wife rebecca gayheart dane says he and her 20-month-old daughter were forced to flee a quickly flooding home surrounded by live, high voltage wires without the benefit of light, they survived. >> they have been dispossessed from their home and that the house is not safe until something is done with the trees. >> reporter: in l.a. county court, the dans claim corgan had been warned his trees were dangerous. patently untrue replies corgan in a statement. i was horrified when i learned about the tree falling. eric dane did not respond to our calls, e-mails and wasn't home when we called. and corgan calls the legal battle a shame because they're nice people. ♪ today is the greatest day i have ever known ♪ >> reporter: corgan has definitely known greater days than this. nick watt, abc news, beverly hills. >> oh, riveting news there.

something more relevant. taco day coming up next in the morning mix. come on back. >> mm. >> mm. follow the wings.

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[ female announcer ] fight 7 signs of aging flawlessly. cc what's possible. ♪ yeah, there's something different about us. we'll tell you why. >> there's a reason for this. >> yes, there always is a reason. >> it's not casual thursday. >> football, college, peewee, high school, one of our favorite sports in america, right? there is one physician in new hampshire proposing that the school there, the school board, school board meeting said they should get red of the football program. he says, i suspect it's going to take a long time. this might be the first volley. it took a long time for people to wear bicycle helmets. long time for people to stop smoking. this physician is citing multiple concussions, the repeated hits. depression, dementia that can

obviously come out of this. >> but football is like americana. it will be around forever, you know what i mean? >> yes, it will. but the dover school board since released a statement. they said the cancellation of football not going to happen. >> not going to happen. well, we've all been -- when you fly, you have trouble with the luggage. know what i mean. trying to find the carousel. get it up on the thing. this story i love for all you guys out there who travel a lot. it speaks to our laziness, it locks on to the blue tooth on your mobile phone. and it will follow you electronically through the airport. it literally follows the signal on your cell phone and moved toward you. you don't have to put it over your shoulder. get this, will lock up and alert you by vibrating your phone. if the signal gets lost here. if you are truly lazy an dote feel like drags your bag or putting it over your shoulder,

get the hop suitcase. i think it's a great idea. >> i automatically follow you. no blue tooth requires. crazy sight in russia, motorists speeding down the highway, see a large bale of hay. his tractor had broken down. there was no other way. so he strapped it on to his -- to transport it. a little crazy. >> ridiculous video. our favorite part of the show where we got to eat. it is national taco day 2012. otherwise known as free tacos. any place that sells tacos, taco bell, whatever the joint is in your neighborhood. they will, free tacos, taco special. the point is go eat and enjoy, a delicious little snack here. nice little display here. these, these are the hard shells, soft-shell, what have you got? >> they're allegedly hard shell but they're a little soft and soggy right now. >> oh, you hate when that happens. >> for you. >> here is the soft-shell. i think we c

this mor on "world new this morning on "world news now" -- political showdown. president obama and governor mitt romney face to face in their first debate. >> was there a clear winner? and did either candidate manage to reach out to undecided voters who could make or break the race . it is thursday, october 4th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good thursday morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm paula faris. we're going to take you live to denver to begin our coverage of last night's debate and tell you why big bird -- yes -- big bird was part of the discussion. >> there were a lot of light moments last night. i think big bird the thing, emerging as a moment of levity, but a symbol too for something else as well.

interesting. >> clinging on to that big old yellow bird. then a frightening medical scare in several states. how do so many hospital patients come down with a brain disease and what caused this unusual illness? also this morning, who punked ashton kutcher? the hoax that had police swarming the actor's home. and why nobody is laughing. later this half hour, we have featured extreme eats, all week, i can't button my jacket. today serving up an early morning sweet treat from new yorkers who have mastered the art of donut making. anything you can fry is good by me. >> amen to that. donuts this morning. breakfast of champions. that's what i'm talking about. we turn to the big news of the morning. the debate last night ranged from solving the nation's debt crisis to whether big bird should be fired. >> it was long on the details and short on the kinds of political fireworks that have marked past presidential

debates. so which candidate did better? 33 days until the ever big vote. abc's karen travers live in denver with a look. good morning, karen. >> reporter: good morning, paula. good morning, rob. it was clear from the start of last night's debate that mitt romney ral saw this this as an opportunity to shake up the race. he came out aggressive, he came out well prepared and he put the president on defense for much of the 90 minutes. president obama and mitt romney finally went head-to-head. right out of the gate the candidates boiled down their economic arguments. >> governor romney has a perspective that says if we cut taxes, skewed towards the wealthy and roll-back regulations that we'll be better off. i've got a different view. >> the president has a view similar to the view he had when he ran four years ago. if you will, trickle-down government would work. that's not the right answer for america. >> reporter: romney's comments

about the 47% have taken a toll on his campaign, even before the leaked video, polls showed americans think he favors the wealthy over the middle class. he clearly wanted to try to change that perception. >> the people who are having a hard time right now are middle-income americans. under the president's policies, middle-income americans have ben b they're, they're just being i will not under any circumstances raise taxes on >> reporter: but the preside said his rival doesn't right solutions and that romney can't keep his goal of cutting taxd no th middle class. >> now, five weeks before the election he is saying his ig bold idea is never m >> reporter: the deba turned to the president's health care law whiomne will get rid ofifel >> it cuts $716 billion from medicare to pay for it. i want to putone medicare. it has killed jobs. >> reporter: but the president tried to bring it back to romney's own healtcare

whi quilar. >> governor romney did a good thing working with democrats in the state to set up what is essentially the identical model. it hasn't destroyed jobs. >> reporter: there were few fireworks and there were even fewer surprises. both candidates were deliberate going through their policy points. rob, paula, at times that made it seem look they were more concerned with getting through their checklist than really connecting with voters watching at home. >> all right, karen. now, there is a pretty heavy moment when they were talking about what programs would be cut. all of a sudden you heard sesame street, big bird, big bird started trending. tell us what happened? >> oh, yeah, don't let your kids hear this one. big bird is apparently on the chopping block in a mitt romney budget. he was saying that the programs that would have to be eliminated if we have to borrow money. if they're just not essential. he said to jim lehrer. look, i love pbs, i love big bird, but big bird is going to go. he would end subsidies for pbs. got a laugh. blew up twitter. everybody was talking about it. i tweeted i think we need a fact check, does mitt romney really love big bird. seemed to get attention. people were interested in us

going back and looking whether or not he really does, what is mitt romney's record on big bird. >> moving on to something a little more substantive than "sesame street." i mean, you're not going to find a lot of people out there who thought the president won last night. he really by all accounts. both side of the aisle, a lackluster kind of dry, flat, performance. is that what you are hearing as well? >> rob, the people that think the president won were the ones that were die-hards in his corner or the people that are getting a paycheck from the campaign office in chicago. the president came out, a little flat, he came out on the defensive. never really able to gain his ground. mitt romney though, you have to give him credit. he was really prepared. he went through those bullet points. how many times, did we hear him say, one, two, three, four. he was very, very prepared and aggressive. and that's what you would expect though when an incumbent is a debate. is this all about the president's record. much as he can try on the trail, make this what mitt romney would do over four years if he is elected. this is referendum on the

president. mitt romney was successfully able to do that. at one point he said you have been president the last four years. we are not talking about what is about to happen need to talk what has been happening. >> really quick, any missed opportunities for both candidates. romney did exceptionally well. in terms of missed opportunities? >> two big missed opportunities, i think, from both sides. president obama did not go after mitt romney on that 47% comment. that has been dominating the debate conversation the last couple weeks. didn't go aggressively on it. some people, democrats will say he should have done that. mitt romney said the middle-class has gotten crushed by the obama administration, but didn't say, just like joe biden said yesterday, would have been a great opportunity to say look even at your own vice president admits it. >> two more chances left to go. plus the veep debate as well. thank you to karen travers, reporting live from denver. thank you again, karen. coverage of last night's debate is far from over. later this half-hour some of your political observations. posted on our facebook fan page. keep it here on abc.

all morning long. and tomorrow, we'll get the latest gauge on unemployment nationwide from the labor department and it does not look encouraging. september's jobless rate is predicted to edge up slightly to 8.2% when the federal report is released, up 0.1% from august. a private survey showed american businesses made 162,000 hires last month, down from august. something that may be addressed in the next two presidential debates, a new book that says president obama hoped to put osama bin laden on trial if he add surrendered in last year's raid by u.s. navy s.e.a.l.s. the book quotes mr. obama as saying he thought he would be in a strong enough position politically after bin laden's capture that a criminal trial would have been possible here in the u.s. it also says the president expected bin laden to go down fighting in the raid. the book is called "the finish" and it's being published in two weeks. and nearly a dozen people in new york are facing charges this

morning in a case of international espionage. they are all accused of illegally shipping cutting-edge military technology from houston and sending it to russia through jfk airport. it's believed the computer components ended up in a russian radar and surveillance equipment, even in russian fighter jets as well. health experts are trying to pinpoint the source of an meningitis outbreak which left four dead and dozens ill. all of the victims received steroid injections before becoming ill. 18 of the cases were at a national clinic. public health investigators say this meningitis is caused by common fungus and not spread person to person contact. >> it appears to be a particular mold known as aspergillus which is present in our environment, it's fairly ubiquitous. we breathe spores in every day and they typically don't make people sick. >> now, the massachusetts

specialty pharmacy suspected as the source of the steroid medicine has voluntarily suspended operations. a philadelphia police officer seen on video punching a woman in the face will soon be out of a job. the city's top cop, announced that he is firing lieutenant jonathan josie saying it is difficult to justify his actions during a post parade street party over the weekend. gusman was handcuffed after being knocked to the ground. disorderly conduct charges against her have now been dropped. ashton kutcher has punked plenty of people with great comedic effect. he was at the center of a hoax on police yesterday which had nobody laughing. police and s.w.a.t. teams, with guns drawn, converged on his hollywood home after some one reported a burglary was under way. nothing of the sort was going on. kutcher wasn't even home at the time. >> hollywood station received a teletype, apparently from a deaf person.

there was a call of shots being fired. and the officers got there, obviously no shots being fired. all employees of the residence. doing what they were supposed to be doing. >> three people who were in the house were questioned were not arrested. police say they will find whoever initiated that prank and prosecute them. >> when the joke goes bad. here on a cutting edge show like "world news now" -- we know that stuff like why did the chicken cross the road? well it's kind of old by now. >> slightly. >> just a touch. >> that's why we have stuff like taco, the emu trying to cross the road in cape canaveral. it turns out that taco had a good reason for trying to cross the road. not just off to get to the other side right? >> seems taco was randy, seeing as it is mating season. taco was trying to find some lady emus. oh, yeah! emu! his owner eventually got him back in his pen. but without any lady friends. so, i guess, randy to handy.ha-. got to be creative, you know

what i mean. that was awful. coming up -- rning.ing to our top story this first presidential debate and your observations about it. >>and stick around for something ooey and gooey and sweet. extreme eats series, early morning favorite. you are horrible, rob nelson. donuts like you have never seen or tasted before. all coming up on "world news now." ts like you have never seen or tasted before. all coming of on "world news now." ♪ me-away. um, hello. these ugly stains are ruining my good looks and style. and good luck using that cleaner. excuse me, miss ? he's right. those are tough hard water stains, and that cleaner's not gonna cut it. truth is, 85% of us have hard water and many don't even know it. you need lime-a-way. lime-a-way is specially formulated to conquer hard water stains. it's 4 times more effective at removing lime scale

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well, instant analysis takes on new meaning in the world of social media. facebook and twitter. lit up last night during the presidential debate with folks all over the political spectrum weighing in. >> everyone is sitting on the couch chiming in. that was no different on our facebook page. as soon as the debate ended we asked you who you thought won. and why? here is some of what you had to say. >> genelle says romney -- he was clear, decisive in his answers. where obama's mind seemed to wander and at times seemed very distant while romney was speaking. >> a lot of folks agree with that, absolutely. meanwhile, martin says obama. romney gives me a bad feeling. i don't trust him. >> julie says, obama won.

romney looked like he drank too much red bull or something. he was hyped. >> mitchell says, huge obama fan and think he'll come back next debate. but tonight he was kicked from one side of the ring to another. >> andy says, i call it a tie since they both seem to have repeated what the other said, just different wording or something like that. >> really, really interesting last night. people had a lotf opinions. pundits on both side of the aisle. it was mitt romney's night. don't think any one is are going that. obama, flat, looking down, angry, irritated. like he is phoning it in. mitt romney was aggressive. wonder if he went through 22 debates in the primary with republicans. it showed last night. it really did. >> sure did. very strange strategy so to speak from the president. >> if it was a strategy, yeah. join the conversation logging on to our facebook page wnnfans.com. and from pickles to meatballs, all week bringing you unusual food tour of new york city. >> that's right.

this morning we found a place that has perfected donuts. look at this thing right here. >> not yet. not yet. >> stick around for our extreme eats coming up next. >> not yet. not yet. >> stick around for our extreme eats coming up next. man.

well, they are one of our favorite treats at 3:00 a.m. donuts. >> we send amanda van allen, donuts taken to a whole new level. amazing, amanda. >> rob, paula, you have never seen donuts like the ones i am about to show you. i visited doughnut plant where i have learned to make three types of gourmet doughnuts. i even used a blow torch for one of them. part of our extreme series, "extreme eats."

we are her today at donut plant, here with executive chef, owner, mark. what keeps the customers coming become to this donut place, rather than just having a dunkin' donuts right down the street? >> i think because it is original. i've taken my grandfather's doughnut recipe and i kind of wanted to do something different with it. when i first started making donuts 18 years age i was interested in taking it in my own direction. you know, so much more fun to do something that hadn't been done before. >> learning how to make donuts from start to finish. and this is our first station, right, mark? >> right. what we have done is rolled out the dough. >> okay. >> now, we are going to cut them. when you cut out a lot of donuts. learn how to flip it. watch is. >> ooh. fancy. i want to try that. hold on. a section for myself. okay. here we go. >> that's good. >> take it over here. >> ooh, wow. >> so we do them all together. >> yeah. ♪

>> how does pistachio sound? >> pistachio sounds kind of amazing, actually. whoa. wow. >> look at that. >> so there is no surface that goes untouched by the pistachio. everything. >> total coverage. >> total coverage. look at that. i love that. wow, look at that. oh, my goodness. >> what is in e rose? >> we have this small mini donut. we are going to glaze it in rose water glaze. and after that, we're going to accessorize it with -- >> with these. >> rose petals. >> edible. cheers. >> oh, my goodness. amazing. >> this is our signatureut

which is a -- also a glaze with the creme brulee, inject it with vanilla bean custard. see how there's a crunchy outside coating, then you bite in and it's soft vanilla custard. you keep it moving. okay? >> okay. >> stay pretty far away from it. you don't want to burn it. main thing to keep it moving. because you are going to caramelize the sugar. not burn it. >> a little too fast. >> sorry. >> i have to focus. look at that donut. that was, that was actually -- >> it's on fire! >> just pops out at you. it's just like a party in my mouth. >> oh, my goodness. >> look at all these flavors. run through these. >> yeah, chocolate cake donuts. raspberry doughnuts, creme brulee doughnuts.

pistachio, peanut butter, coconut. >> delicious! here you go, paula! >> ha-ha! medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i looked at my options. then i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it helps pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay. and could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. to me, relationships matter. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients.

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♪ work work it girl do your thing on the runway ♪ work it, baby. >> as i split my dress. >> more of the donut. >> sounds like a glamorous life. beauty, high fashion, exotic photo shoots, being on the catwalk, probably a cakewalk, isn't it? >> really. so sticky. but it turns out that is not even close, though. being a model is not only hard work it pays next to nothing. abc's linsey davis talked to a woman who is revealing the ugly side of beauty. >> reporter: strutting your stuff on the catwalk and gracing magazine covers have never seemed so unglamorous. at least when seen through the eyes of model ashley stetts. >> there is so much rejection, and you know you don't always get paid. no stability in this work. >> reporter: stetts has been a

covergirl and industry insider more than a decade. this is her day job. trying on clothes and posing for pictures. doesn't sound too strenuous until you hear her talk about it or read what she wrote in the column for huffington post, the finances of a model in new york city revealed. >> that's one of the most unglamorous parts because you really are not making any money. >> reporter: for example when she landed this her first cover for "women's health" magazine she was disappointed to learn she would get paid $250. she says many other day-long shoots pay even less, just $100 for the entire day. >> a lot of models do end up working as waitresses, working in night life. >> reporter: stetts just wants to clear misconception and give outsiders insighab calls the underbelly of the industry. >> you have to keep in mind it is a business for them and they just see you as a way to make money, essentially. if you need to borrow money from

your agency because you're waiting to pay your are represent, they'll charge you sometimes 10%. >> reporter: at 30 years old, stetts knows she is nearing the end of her shelf life as a model. >> i was comfortable. it was easy to do this job the what's next? >> reporter: back in march, she started an advice blog called the frugal model, teaching girls how to be beautiful on a budget. something she says her life as a model has taught her first hand. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> that breaks misconception. you think models are raking all that money on covers and stuff. good to know there is another side to it, huh? >> ironically, it's one of those professions where the males like zoolander actually make less than the female models. >> how much did you make when you did it? >> $1.50 an hour the i had to pay them. >> wow, "glamour" magazine. glazed donut edition. get it on stands now.

this morning on "world news now" -- rating the debate. the presidential candidates get down to policy nitty-gritty in their first face-off. >> the early reviews say mitt romney turned in a strong performance in denver last night. it is thursday, october 4th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good thursday morning, everybody. i'm paula faris. >> and i'm rob nelson, welcome, everybody. a lot of people are saying it looks like a brand new race this morning. we'll have complete debate analysis coming up in just a second. by all accounts a very good night, perhaps a momentum game-changer for mitt romney. >> bit of a head scratcher for the president. a lot of people said he just looked listless. >> he kind of phoned it in last night. not a good night, so, expect reassessment. >> for sure. also this half hour, laughing it up with america's

post debate ritual. of course, a look at "saturday night live's" long history of skewering the politicians. no one does it better than "snl." >> not gonna do it. >> not gonna do it. dana carvey. >> can't wait. hear how they're going to spin it. also ahead, we have heard so much about the peanut butter recall. now we meet a victim of the outbreak, a little boy whose scoop of peanut butter gave him the scare of his life. >> again, the people -- they're saying how far reaching the peanut butter recall is. so many products. a telltale story right there. then we also have a revelation from nicole kidman. she breaks her silence about going into a deep depression after her marriage to tom cruise fell apart a few years back. what she is saying now coming up in "the skinny." seeing she has given this interview now, of course, tom, just in the middle of this third divorce. i believe. so, wow, crazy. >> yes, it is. what is not crazy we are leading with politics. >> yes, it is. first, mitt romney had president obama on the defensive

for the majority of that 90 minute debate last night. >> his performance renewed hope among republicans for a victory come november. with 33 days until the election, abc's terry moran begins our coverage. >> reporter: they came out, shook hands, ready for the main event. but president obama began soft, very soft. a shoutout to the first lady. >> i just want to wishsweetie, you, happy anniversary, and let you know that, a year from now we will not be celebrating it in front of 40 million people. >> reporter: and then they got down to busine, the subject, jobs. romney took it to the president from the get-go. >> middle-income families are being crushed. >> reporter: it was clear and direct and aggressive. romney seemed on his game and ready for a fight. hammering away at the grim onomic track record of the last four years. >> when the president took office, 32 million people on food stamps, 47 million on food stamps today, economic growth this year, slower than last year. and last year, slower than the year before.

going forward with the status quo is not going to cut it for the american people who are struli today. >> reporter: president obama seemed at first to wander a bit, but found his footing with an answer that slammed romney as the heir of failed trickle-down economics. >> i think, math, common sense, and our history shows us that is not a recipe for job growth. look, we've tried this, the approach governor romney is talking about is the same sales pitch made in 2001 and 2003 and it all culminated in the worst financial crisis since the great depression. >> the president struggled to score points on what polls show is romney's biggest vulnerability. most voters believe he favors the rich. obama tried to portray the romney/ryan plan for medicare in that light. >> when you move to a voucher system you are putting seniors at the mercy of the insurance companies and over time if traditional medicare has decayed or fallen apart then they're stuck. >> reporter: for his part,

romney zeroed in on what may be obama's vulnerability, the unpopularity of his health care plan and the sense that he took his eye off the economic ball when he pushed for it. terry moran, abc news, new york. >> our debate coverage continues now with abc's senior washington editor rick klein. >> rick, good morning. pundits on beth side of the aisle giving this to romney. we are expecting zingers, style, not substance, a whole lot of spinach on the plate. did it work? >> couple think-tank presidents tangling there. so many studies and reports and facts and figures. i think both candidates know, voters out there want specifics, so they came loaded to bear with more specifics than most can handle. one thing that seemed lacking to me is any sense of humanity. actually touching peoples lives. in the blizzard of numbers. clearly, two guys that -- maybe a couple wonky, nerdy guys running for president. this was not a joe six-pack debate by any stretch.

there weren't a lot of bright spots for the president. this was romney's night. everyone on both side saying that. one effective thing the president did, pointed out romney is still short on details on a few key things, health care plan, his tax care plan, as well as as frank-dodd. did he score any points as far as romney being a blank canvas? >> there were a few vulnerabilities when you talked about entitlements, tax plans, he has to square these numbers. he dug himself some holes, that the obama campaign can dig him into even more. it's going to be difficult for him to square those things in a future debate. i think there is possible areas of opportunity there. this was not something that even the most dedicated partisans can paint as a good night for president obama. >> you know it's a bad night if opinions are that uniform, huh? >> exactly. the next presidential debate, tuesday, october 16th. >> thank you, rick. >> thanks. >> thank you, guys. our coverage of the debate does not end here. we'll take you live to denver, during "america this morning" and also during "good morning america," as well, as a wrap-up and further analysis. look for political insight any time always at abcnews.com.

turning overseas, tension is running high this morning along turkey's border with syria. five turkish civilians were killed yesterday when an artillery shell fired from inside syria, landed in their border village. it was answered by artillery fire on syrian targets from turkey's military. syria accuses turkey of hosting syrian opposition groups that are fighting president bashar assad's regime. and the regime is blaming rebels for a series of bomb blasts in syria's largest city aleppo. three car bombs and explosion caused a massive amount of destruction yesterday. at least 33 people were killed and dozens wounded since the uprising began in march 2011. activists say more than 30,000 people have been killed. >> that number is just beyond staggering, man. in other news this morning -- a new jersey family is thanking a group of good samaritans after escaping a fire in dramatic fashion, all caught on surveillance video. the entire family, a mother and her five kids, jumped out the

window of their burning third floor apartment in newark. the 17-year-old went first. landing directly on the sidewalk below. people walking by, gathered under the window to catch the rest of the children and their mom one by one. amazingly there were only minor injuries. >> i have two broken toes. and this foot right here -- my sister her -- her ankle is broken. >> my back is hurting so bad because i came down on my back. my arm, this is hurting so bad. >> certainly could have been far worse than that, wow. the mother said they probably wouldn't be here had it not been for strangers who stepped in to help them. and we have some important health news for women who are pregnant or are thinking of becoming pregnant. new research shows that children of women who had high blood pressure may pay the price even years later. scientists in finland found the children had a marked decline in

their reasoning, math skills, and spatial relationships for the time they turned 70. up to 8% of pregnant women suffer from high blood pressure. here is your thursday forecast. a wet day in the northeast. heavy rain. am i cracking you up? >> i was going to chime in about the pregnancy thing. >> you got something to say about pregnant women don't you. showers and thunderstorms from the carolinas down to florida. up to a foot of snow in north dakota and northern minnesota. >> 40s from billings to fargo. mostly 70s in the midwest. 80s from hot-lanta to dallas. 99 in phoenix. >> did you say fargo? >> fargo. the last time we all saw james bond it was skydiving into the opening ceremony of the london olympics. and now he is about to celebrate a big milestone. >> that's right. tomorrow marks 50 years since the first bond film.

"doctor no" was released. >> what are you doing, girl? >> followed by 21 other movies featuring 007. during the time six men have played bond himself. forgot how hot he was. >> the franchise has done pretty well. you might say it had nearly $5 billion in ticket sales. the 23rd bond film "sky fall" hits theaters later this month. who is your favorite -- whoa, distracted. who is your favorite bond of all? i'm still a sean connery fan. >> daniel craig. i love daniel craig. he surprised me. i wasn't expecting a whole lot from him. >> he won you over. >> he did win me over. >> indeed. nice to know, paula. >> just like you. >> took a little time, right? >> yes. coming up, family members who found out about tainted peanut butter and they found out the hard way. and later, historic humor. how past political debate turned candidates into laughingstocks. you are watching "world news now." ♪

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all week long we have been telling you about the massive recall of peanut butter, more than 100 products now pulled off store shelves. >> and this morning, we hear firsthand from a young man who never thought his love of peanut butter would make him sicker

than he has ever been. abc's steve osunsami has this story. >> reporter: 8-year-old nate lebron says it felt like he was going to die all because he ate out of a jar of peanut butter his father bought om a trader joe's grocery store. >> it felt very painful. the stomach cramps i was screaming loud. and i was saying "why does this happen to me?" >> reporter: he's one of 30 confirmed salmonella victims so far. families should know symptoms show up usually within three days. it was a terrible scare that started saturday, august 25th with classic symptoms parents should look for. first painful stomach cramps. then a severe headache. a 103-degree fever. dysentery. by monday morning he was vomiting too, but he was now bleeding. doctors couldn't figure it out. and on wednesday, he had to be hospitalized. his fever didn't break until friday. he was already home when the test results came back the following tuesday.

salmonella, a unique strain linked to recalled peanut butter. how frightened were you by all this? >> it is our child, our baby, i don't think any parent would want to be in that position. >> i thought this was good for you. but i have been eating peanut butter, that kind of peanut butter before i got sick almost all the time. >> reporter: which he never thought would hurt. steve osunsami, rocky mount, north carolina. >> a lucky little guy. so far, 30 people have become sick. four have needed to be hospitalized. thankfully, no one has died from the outbreak just yet. >> you can't be too careful. with this, and again, the side effects which are manifesting themselves up to two weeks. >> two weeks later. >> abcnews.com for a complete list on the products recalled. again, abcnews.com for all the latest on that. be careful, you think some may be tainted. chuck it. wait till this passes. >> i got jif and skippy. those allegedly aren't tainted. >> you got the good stuff.

taking it up a notch. >> crunchy. >> oh, no, smooth is better. you like crunchy? >> i like them both. i've don't discriminate against peanut butter. all of them. >> all that nut butter. coming up, nicole kidman reveals her emotional scars dating back to the end of her marriage with tom cruise. and what celebrity watchers are revealing about rihanna and chris brown. it is all next in "the skinny." pucker up. >> abc "world news now" will continue after this from our abc stations. "the skinn

♪ skinny ♪ skinny ♪ so skinny welcome to "the skinny," everybody. nicole kidman opening up for the first time about her marriage and subsequent depression after her divorce with tom cruise. she spoke to australia's "who" magazine and talks about getting married really young at age 23. they got married in 1990 when she and tom cruise got married. she says they split after 11 years of marriage, they have two adopted children. but she was really depressed because they got married so quickly and she was just so young. she sa ion't regret it. i got bela and connor, and i did have fantastic marage for a long time. she also says, part of that depression stemmed from being able to conceive. she had an ectopic pregnancy, and suffered a lot of miscarriages. and has a couple beautiful children with her husband, keith urban. also, fellow aussie.

>> divorce can be a dark period for a lot of people, and you throw in fame, wealth, whatever emotional turmoil. but she clearly has moved on and she'll do well. >> looking great. >> looking great. also here -- mm-mm-mm, rihanna and chris brown apparently are maybe getting back together or at least messing around or doing something. according to multiple reports, celeb buzz "us weekly" "new york post," they were at a new york city nightclub monday night. coming up next to each other. seen kissing. apparently they went into the bathroom together. at one point when she came out, looked a little shall we say ruffled. so then, he was seen leaving the hotel where she was staying. all signs point toward some kind of reconciliation. apparently, when she gave the interview to oprah, she admitted she loved him. they apparently were at the same club. he was a few tables down. he came over, took off his shirt and started dancing on the table where she was at. they had this hot nightclub kind of night. apparently, they're getting back together.

we all know the back-story, what happened you. you hope if they to get back together. and god forbid something else happens, people will look at her and go, fool me once, shame on you. fool me twice, shame on me. you know what i mean? let's hope certain lessons have not been forgotten. on that situation, huh? have you ever watched honey boo boo, the pint-sized pageant star? >> i'm aware of who she is. >> of course, she's a reality star. chronicles her and her family, very entertaining, a lot of my . now an upcoming episode of "south park" that funny show is going to take aim at honey boo boo. take a listen. >> my name is honey boo boo and i'm a beauty queen. i'm fat as a whale and i don't give two -- girl. >> oh, lord. here we go. >> honey boo boo. but she's so cute. it's going to air wednesday 10:00 on comedy central. >> oh. >> it's a little bit of an indulgence, people. >> it is. "south park" is -- i love "south park."

no one is safe and nothing is sacred on that show. honey boo boo, apparently her time in the fire. >> they're asking mitt romney about snooki, honey boo boo. she is this little girl is blowing up. >> she has a big personality. >> indeed. making more than us. anyway, we showed you yesterday that nicki minaj and mariah carey had a big dustup on "american idol" auditions in north carolina and expletive-laden tirade between two known divas in the business. ryan seacrest, in the back ground here, going at it. well, ryan seacrest on his radio show said, it got heated between nicki and mariah. i'll be honest with you. it did get intense. apparently a detente. they are okay now. they made up. on the way to baton rouge for further auditions. apparently now is all well. >> uh-huh. >> there were tense moments the i don't think it's over. just saying. meow.

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♪ oh. i've been looking forward to this segment. when most presidential debates have defining moments replayed on cable news and analyzed by pundits for days. >> ain't that the truth. but sometimes, the most memorable moments of the debates come days after the debate on saturday night by some of the most talented comedians on the air. abc's jonathan karl has more. >> i can't. the third one i can't. sorry. oops. >> reporter: some debate moments just don't need late night comedians to be memorable. for the rest there is "saturday night live." >> let me just sum up. on track. stay the course. a thousand points of light. >> governor dukakis, rebuttal.

>> i can't believe i am losing to this guy. [ laughter ] >> reporter: over the years the "snl" parodies have some times been more memorable than the debates themselves. >> can i call you joe? >> can i call you joe? >> of course. >> okay. because i practiced a couple zingers where i call you joe. >> reporter: when you think of palin, facing off against biden. you are probably most likely to think of this. >> john mccain and i are a couple of mavericks and gosh darn it we are going to take that maverick energy right to washington and we are going to use it to fix this financial cris >> reporter: the real al gore was so stiff in his first debate -- >> i will put medicare and social security in a lock box. >> one of the keys to the lock box would be kept by the president. >> reporter: the real john ehereporter: the real john

and so did "snl's" mccain. the parodies aren't just funny they can matter. >> as many people will talk about the "snl" skit on monday as well talk about the actual presidential debate. that's what makes it so powerful. >> reporter: after all how can the reaacom something >> i know the whse. garden doesn't lock unless yo pull it. i know that, i know that the toilet in the lincoln bedroom will run all night unle you ton.aka- >> you g the strategiry. >> oh, that was will farrell doing bush. dana carvey doing theist o tina fey, went through the roof so many memts. and there -- look at that. >> can i call you ron >> ha-ha. >> w